Alibaba workforce shrinks 34% in 2025 as Chinese tech giant doubles down on AI

Core Insights - Alibaba's shares in Hong Kong fell by 6% following the release of its earnings report, which indicated a 67% drop in profit and revenue that missed expectations for the last three months of the previous year [1] Workforce Reduction - As of December, Alibaba's workforce decreased to 128,197 employees, down from 194,320 a year earlier, marking a reduction of approximately 34% over the course of 2025 [2] - The significant workforce reduction was primarily revealed in the March 2025 quarter, coinciding with the sale of the Sun Art retail group and the exit from its stake in the Intime department store chain [3] - The company has been reducing headcount consistently, with the latest cuts being more substantial than the 11% reduction reported in December 2024 [4] Strategic Focus - Alibaba is restructuring its operations by offloading labor-intensive businesses and focusing on artificial intelligence, aiming to become a full-stack AI company that includes semiconductor manufacturing and AI models [4][5] - The company recently launched an AI service called Wukong for businesses and increased prices for its cloud and storage services by up to 34% due to rising demand and supply chain costs [5] - Alibaba's CEO stated the goal to grow cloud and AI revenue to over $100 billion annually within the next five years [5]